Welcome to the Natural Analogues Working Group website

NAWG-18 venue, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, UK

Image courtesy Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester

Workshop Overview

NAWG (Natural Analogue Working Group, chair Dr Heini Reijonen, Geological Survey of Finland), in association with Prof Kevin Taylor (University of Manchester, UK), Prof Simon Norris (Nuclear Waste Services and University of Manchester, UK) and Dr Russell Alexander (BG, Switzerland), is pleased to invite you to the 18th NAWG workshop, to be held in Manchester, UK, on 9-11th June, 2026.

The NAWG-18 workshop will be an opportunity to explore recent developments in the use of natural analogues (NA) in the field of geological disposal of radioactive waste. Extensive scope of NAs is reflected in the preliminary topical session list (below), but we are also happy to receive proposals for additional sessions. The scope covers all geological disposal concepts for HLW, ILW, LLW, including alternative concepts.

Preliminary Schedule

Monday, 8th June: Travel to Manchester, ice breaker in the evening.

Tuesday, 9th June: Workshop sessions

Wednesday, 10th June: Workshop sessions and workshop dinner

Thursday, 11th June: Workshop sessions (morning, closing 12:00), field trip (afternoon, closing ~17:00)

Posters will be on display throughout the workshop (session reserved for Tuesday afternoon)

Preliminary Topical Sessions

• Siting and site characterisation
  • NA studies in support of repository siting
  • Direct NA technical input to site characterisation
  • Using NAs to communicate with local communities
• NAs in stakeholder communications
  • What has been achieved so far?
  • Previous mistakes made through over-simplification of the messages
  • Where to now – examples of current thinking, how to learn from science on other media?
• NA in the safety case
  • Recent examples of NA support of the safety case
  • What should NA bring to the safety case – the view of the regulator
  • Use of NA information in licence applications
• Longevity of the engineered barrier systems (EBS)
  • Waste forms
  • Waste packages
  • Buffers, backfills, seals, earth covers
• Host rock studies
  • External processes (climate, biosphere, seismicity etc.) potentially affecting repository performance
  • Radionuclide migration in the geosphere
  • Impact of potential EBS-host rock interaction
  • Deep borehole disposal – relevant analogues for deep geosphere
• Knowledge management (KM)
  • How to ensure inclusion of NAs in national/international programmes (e.g. EURATOM, IAEA, NEA)?
  • What can/should NAWG contribute?
  • NA Knowledge Management examples

Participation & Submissions

To express interest in attending the workshop or to submit session ideas, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The registration form and abstract template will be uploaded soon to NAWG website. There will be a small registration fee covering coffee/teas/finger food, conference dinner /field trip.

Important dates

Abstract submission deadline: end of March 2026

Registration deadline: May 15^th 2026

Full paper deadline: End of July 2026.